


First Day of Class

by miera



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-31
Updated: 2010-07-31
Packaged: 2017-10-10 21:19:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miera/pseuds/miera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The beginning of a never-to-be-finished AU about the SGA characters in high school. It would have gone in a Weir/Sheppard direction eventually.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Day of Class

Atlantis High was like the other three high schools John'd been in over the past three years, although it was a lot smaller than his last school. That one had over 3,500 students. Here he thought there couldn't be more than 500 total.

But just walking in on the first day, he recognized all the familiar clichés. Jocks, nerds, band geeks, cheerleaders, girls who were definitely not cheerleaders, and the same set of interchangeable guys with short hair and baseball caps. Things were fairly chaotic, and most of the other kids seemed enormously hyper, given that it was only the first day. He got jostled around a bit in between people greeting each other after summer vacation before he finally located the office.

His mom had gotten efficient at school registrations, so it didn't take long for John to get his class schedule and his locker assignment. Homeroom hadn't even started yet as he made his way down what was presumably the senior hall and found his locker. And, just as at every other school, when he tried the combination, it didn't work.

"Great," he muttered, dropping his backpack and trying again.

Nothing doing.

He was contemplating giving it up and just lugging his bag around all day rather than standing here with people watching him when a loud voice behind him said, "You have to wait a second between moving the dial. These things are really old."

John looked over his shoulder. A kid about his height but a lot broader in the shoulders and chest than he was stood behind him, with a stack of books under one arm and a Pop Tart in the other.

Figuring it was worth a shot, John repeated the combination, pausing momentarily after he hit each number. The lock creaked unhappily and then popped open. "Thanks."

"No problem. Who're you?"

"John Sheppard."

The kid nodded. "Rodney McKay."

***

Rodney talked faster than anyone John had ever met, even girls. In the space of the extremely short walk to his homeroom, John learned that Rodney was also a senior, had already exhausted the local university's math and science classes but hadn't been allowed to graduate from high school early because his parents worried he wasn't "socialized" (Rodney even made the little air quotes with his fingers) properly yet. John got a brief glimpse of Rodney's best friend, a kid named Carson who was hustling down the hall in the other direction, and then Rodney disappeared into his homeroom.

Feeling a little like he'd just escaped a tornado, John slipped into the last room in the hallway. It was the physics classroom, and John's stomach sank a little when he saw that the teacher was actually Coach Sumner. John had missed the start of football camp by two weeks because his father's orders had been delayed, but his father had taken him to meet Coach Sumner and talked the grim-looking man into letting John onto the varsity team as a second-string. Sumner hadn't looked all that happy about it, but offending an Air Force colonel in a town dominated by the base probably wasn't smart.

John checked his schedule. He had physics with Sumner too. Fantastic.

There was only one table left in the room that was completely unoccupied, right up in front, but John figured it was better than awkward conversations with strangers first thing in the morning, so he sat down. The bell rang signaling homeroom was starting and as Sumner went to close the door, a girl darted into the room just in the nick of time. She got a stern look from Sumner and scurried to the first available seat, which was right next to John.

She was pretty, he instantly noted, with dark hair in a pony tail, green eyes and freckles scattered lightly over her nose. She flashed him an embarrassed smile and then homeroom was starting and she didn't really look his way again. John studied his schedule, cursing that he had English first thing in the morning, and wondering where the hell the classroom was.

After the announcements and attendance, John decided he might as well ask a cute girl as hope he could catch Rodney in the hallway again. "Hey."

"Hey," she said, giving him a shy smile.

"Could you tell me where this room is?" he asked, pointing to his schedule.

"Oh, it's over in the freshman hall. I mean sophomore hall, it's not freshman hall anymore. I can take you there," she said and then paused, her cheeks turning a bit pink. "I, um, I have English first too."

John thought maybe the universe was trying to make up for the Sumner thing. "Oh yeah? How's the teacher?"

"She's wonderful," his new friend gushed and proceeded to tell him about how the English teacher had also been her freshman English teacher and before 10 words were out of her mouth John realized this girl was definitely a nerd. A very cute one, but still a nerd.

Of course, John wasn't exactly the coolest guy on the planet himself.

The bell rang again and they got up to head to class. The girl paused, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "By the way, I'm Elizabeth."

"I'm John."

She smiled at him, more widely this time. "Come on, it's this way."

***

The seniors got the privilege of eating outdoors when the weather was nice enough, taking over the courtyard behind the school during lunch periods so they didn't have to stay indoors with the underclassmen. John bought his lunch and walked out into the sunshine. He didn't spot either Elizabeth or Rodney anywhere, but he did notice Evan Lorne, the quarterback of the football team, who nodded when John approached to signal he could sit down. Relieved, John grabbed a seat and dug into his food eagerly.

There were half a dozen other guys from the team at the table, and John recognized that a few of them were in his AP Physics class. That was a bit unusual. Most of the jocks at John's old school took the easiest courses available and spent the rest of the time beating up on the smart kids. Though as he already could testify, these guys swore just as much as all the other guys at all his other schools.

The conversation abruptly lulled when a female voice called, "Hey, Evan." They all turned and John saw a beautiful girl waving towards Lorne, who waved back. John let out a low whistle and one of the other guys snickered.

"Forget it, Sheppard."

John raised his eyebrows innocently, but the other kid nodded and John saw Lorne looking at him with just a hint of warning in his eyes. Okay, clearly she was taken. John shrugged. "She's hot, is all I'm saying. Who is she?"

"Teyla. She's head cheerleader."

The head cheerleader dating the quarterback. John wondered if he'd stumbled into a Disney movie.

"Yeah, you think now that you're quarterback, you finally have a shot at getting in there, Lorne?" one of the other guys jeered.

The look on Lorne's face was slightly cold, and then the subject was changed by one of the other guys said, "Uh-oh. Take cover. Catfight at four o'clock."

John craned his neck and saw Teyla standing opposite another girl, who was saying something John couldn't hear. If Teyla was hot, this other girl was a centerfold. She did not look like a high school girl. More like a Playboy model, and she was dressed for the part as well. Teyla had the pretty, sort-of-wholesome and sort-of-not cheerleader thing going on. This girl was telegraphing "slut" clear as a bell.

"Shit. Who is that?"

"Chaya Sar. She _used_ to be head cheerleader, if you know what I mean."

That probably explained the venomous looks going on between the two girls. Teyla said something that left Chaya seething and brushed past her. Chaya and the two girls who were trailing after her headed for another table.

"What's the deal with her?" John asked, watching her walk, then pulling his eyes away before his jeans could start to get tight. Jesus.

"She's a bitch from hell," Lorne said flatly. "She lost the vote on the squad to Teyla last year and she quit instead of staying on the team."

"Not to mention her trying to break you and Teyla up," the guy who'd razzed Lorne earlier put in. John was starting to think this kid, Walker, wasn't terribly bright.

Bates, the other kid at the table, tossed his balled up napkin over into the trashbin. "And she's gone through half the team."

"Try teams," Walker said, standing up. "Stevens swears she gave him crabs."

"Like Stevens has ever gotten that far with any girl?" Bates retorted, then shot a look at John. "Watch your back, Sheppard. Chaya goes after the fresh meat."

John glanced towards Chaya and thought he might be okay with that.

***

John's last class of the day was home ec, which every school called something different and all the students still called home ec no matter what state it was. He was pleasantly surprised to find Elizabeth, Teyla and Rodney all there. Rodney looked up in relief when John sat down. "Oh thank God, I was afraid I was going to be stuck in here alone."

"Gee, thanks Rodney," Elizabeth said from the desks in front of them.

"You know what I meant," Rodney whined.

Elizabeth ignored him and turned to Teyla. "Have you met John yet?" Teyla turned around and Elizabeth introduced them.

Teyla smiled, "So you're the new guy?"

"How long before that wears off?" John sighed.

"Ordinarily? Until next year when someone else starts, but since we graduate at the end of the year..."

"I'm doomed," John groaned. The girls grinned and then class was starting. Thankfully the first homework assignment they were allowed to pick their partners, although John honestly wouldn't have minded being assigned to work with either Teyla or Elizabeth.

All four of them walked back to the senior hall after class while the underclassmen raced around to get to their lockers and catch buses. Seniors at Atlantis mostly drove to school, and the ones without cars caught rides from the ones who did rather than suffer the indignity of the bus. John was supremely grateful his mother had backed him up about driving his beat up old Nissan all the way to Colorado during the move when his father had talked of selling it. Mostly it was for convenience, so she didn't have to chase all over picking him up from practices and things, but it meant John blended in a little more.

He got his locker open on the first try this time, and Elizabeth said goodbye when she passed him on her way out. John watched her go for a second and then turned back to jamming his books into the locker, thinking his first day hadn't gone too badly at all.


End file.
